.jpg)
Venus- Top left, very bright white lightMoon- sliver waxing crescent (only 3% full)
Mercury- slightly down and left of moon, faint, fuzzy white light
We had a rare treat tonight to view Venus, Mercury and a new crescent moon.
While seeing Venus and the moon are common occurrences, seeing Mercury is not. If fact, you only get a few times a year to view it and even then, depending on the phase Mercury, the ability to view it might be poor.
Venus and Mercury were closer together a few days ago, but I missed out on the prime viewing days because of clouds or my inability to remember (twice!), but tonight I was delighted to see all three heavenly object together. It was beautiful.
Thought it wasn't my first time. I'll never forget seeing Mercury next to Venus years ago when we lived in Louisville. I was driving to Wal-mart very early in the morning (probably before Rich headed to school), and there it was bright and clear and very close to Venus. It's an image I love to recall.
Tonight, with the help of binoculars (and a few phones calls to my dad) we found Mercury while we were at the ballpark watching Josh's game.
It is another lasting memory I will forever cherish.
Just a few facts about Mercury:
Mercury is known to some as the 'elusive planet' because it's more difficult to see than the others. In pre-Christian days, Mercury had two names. It was called Mercury in the evening sky and Apollo in the morning sky. It was not known that these two were one planet until Pythagoras, who lived in the fifth century, realized it.
Mercury is the smallest planet and it is closest to the sun.
In the northern hemisphere, Mercury never gets above the horizon of the sky when it's dark.
Be aware of the difficulties in seeing Mercury: it's the most complicated of all the planets to observe. Due to its closeness to the sun, it can only be seen for a short time either just before sunrise or in the early night.
.jpg)
.jpg)
While seeing Venus and the moon are common occurrences, seeing Mercury is not. If fact, you only get a few times a year to view it and even then, depending on the phase Mercury, the ability to view it might be poor.
Venus and Mercury were closer together a few days ago, but I missed out on the prime viewing days because of clouds or my inability to remember (twice!), but tonight I was delighted to see all three heavenly object together. It was beautiful.
Thought it wasn't my first time. I'll never forget seeing Mercury next to Venus years ago when we lived in Louisville. I was driving to Wal-mart very early in the morning (probably before Rich headed to school), and there it was bright and clear and very close to Venus. It's an image I love to recall.
Tonight, with the help of binoculars (and a few phones calls to my dad) we found Mercury while we were at the ballpark watching Josh's game.
It is another lasting memory I will forever cherish.
Just a few facts about Mercury:
Mercury is known to some as the 'elusive planet' because it's more difficult to see than the others. In pre-Christian days, Mercury had two names. It was called Mercury in the evening sky and Apollo in the morning sky. It was not known that these two were one planet until Pythagoras, who lived in the fifth century, realized it.
Mercury is the smallest planet and it is closest to the sun.
In the northern hemisphere, Mercury never gets above the horizon of the sky when it's dark.
Be aware of the difficulties in seeing Mercury: it's the most complicated of all the planets to observe. Due to its closeness to the sun, it can only be seen for a short time either just before sunrise or in the early night.
1 comment:
How fun Cheryl! This past summer Mike, his sister Amy and I stayed out until about 2am with Mike's dad and his HUGE telescope looking at all of the stars and constellations. It was fascinating to me. I don't know much about any of it, but it is honestly so exciting to me. It has become his dad's new hobby so he was explaining everything to us. How great that your kids got to see it too!!
Post a Comment